Jo Whiley to broadcast live from legendary Preston music venue

Jo Whiley is to present her Radio 2 evening show in front of a small audience at Preston’s The Ferret, an independent music venue in the heart of Lancashire’s music scene.

On Thursday 5th September, ahead of Radio 2 in the Park 2024 in the city, Jo and a co-host, will showcase three local bands picked from BBC Introducing’s roster of artists to perform live.

The programme will also be simulcast on BBC Radio Lancashire with its BBC Introducing presenter, William Wolstenholme, who will be co-hosting with Jo.

During the show, one of the artists will be revealed as Jo Whiley’s first ever Spotlight BBC Introducing Act in what is a new segment launching that night.

The artists performing are Bryony Jarman-Pinto, a Lancashire-based singer songwriter who fuses jazz, soul, and folk elements; Electronic-pop trio LOWES from Lancaster and Blackpool indie-boyband VALA.

Jo said: “I’m super excited to get the party started in Moor Park, ahead of the whole weekend of incredible live performances at Radio 2 in the Park as the city has a vibrant music scene, with outstanding local talent.

“I can’t wait for our listeners to hear our showcase of the region’s best new musicians – and to launch our brand-new BBC Introducing segment on my show, as there’s nothing more satisfying than watching a new artist’s journey to success.”

Jeff Smith, Head of Music for Radio 2 adds: “Radio 2 is proud to play an incredibly wide range of music, including over 15,000 different songs each year, whether that’s in our daytime schedule or on our brilliant specialist shows, such as The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe or The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum.

“With Radio 2 in the Park coming to Preston, we want to shine a spotlight on some of the best local musicians (and hopefully superstars of the future) from BBC Introducing and are really excited to showcase them in Jo Whiley’s show.”

A small audience have the chance to join Jo at The Ferret for this intimate, live broadcast by registering for the ticket ballot here.